When it comes to being a mom, spending many hours sitting in doctors’ office waiting rooms comes with the territory. Between checkups, physicals, dental and optical visits, it seems like the appointments never end.
If you’re lucky, you’re called into the back within a few minutes of sitting down. That’s like striking the lottery, though. Due to overbooking and others’ appointments running long, you can be sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, trying to keep your child from bouncing off the walls for a very long time.
Keeping your munchkin occupied while he waits can be an amazing feat, especially if the wait drags on, seemingly forever. Being able to reign him in is priceless, but it takes some creativity when there aren’t any toys or other kid-centric pastimes available.
If you’re caught in an unexpected wait at the doctor’s office, try these tricks to keep your child from bouncing off the walls.
1. Hand over the phone. Smartphones are great for a whole lot of mommy business, including keeping an anxious kid busy during long waits. Keep one or two games that will interest and slightly challenge your child on your phone. If you go to your phone’s app store, you’re sure to find several awesome games that are free of charge and will be kid-approved.
2. Launch a magazine scavenger hunt. Grab a random magazine and flip through it quickly to get an idea of what’s inside. Then hand it to Junior and one “treasure” at a time, have him look for something, like ‘a white flower’ or ‘an apple.’ This game can keep him occupied for quite awhile and when you’ve exhausted one magazine there are always 50 more to hunt in.
3. Play some waiting room ‘I Spy’. You know the old car ride classic, I Spy. It goes a little something like, “I spy with my little eye – something that begins with C.” Then the other player has to look around and guess what it is. There’s no reason why you can’t play this game in the waiting room. Take turns “spying” and guessing and you’ll actually get to squeeze in some fun quality time while you wait.
Waiting rooms aren’t fun for anyone, but they can be especially boring for children. If you find yourself stuck in an endless wait, you’ve got to think fast or your pint-sized companion will most likely grow impatient. Giving him something to occupy his time will keep his mind off the wait and on some quiet fun.
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